Finished with the Calligraphy Project!

The alternate title of this post is: Look, Mom! I can start to feel my fingertips again! I had decided to use a pressure sensitive pen instead of a chisel nib, so that I could get greater control of the line width and vary it independently of pen direction. It looked great, but to do this, the scribe must put a lot of pressure on the pen holder. The result is numb fingertips for a couple of days.

However this is all a good thing, because it really brings home the point that the project is done. Now I have to dynamite, I mean, clean up the studio. It has become increasingly poorly arranged, and I am finding it difficult to work in. It's amazing how this happens. It starts out with a really efficient design, but then a work table gets put away in the wrong place, and "this box of stuff that will go to the office soon, I promise" still sits, and then the box of books that needs filing still needs filing, and the next thing I know I am having to spend ten minutes looking for a paintbrush.

So, I will probably have to go to IKEA and get a bookshelf (and a Manager's Special Meatball plate with fries), and then lock myself in the studio for about five evenings, which is not really the worst thing to have to do, so far. Right now the studio is my inner sanctum. No one is allowed in without my permission, and no one but me or those assisting me on any project are allowed to work in it.

However, Amalia needs a better work space for painting. I am sick and tired of cleaning up paint mess in either her room or the living room. For the first time in my life I am going to be permanently sharing my studio with another artist, and a very messy artist at that. I foresee hours of fun, with both of us working at our respective work stations. Of course the first year will be the hardest because Amalia can start and finish a painting session before I am even warmed up. So we will see.